Venetian blind construction



Jan. l2, 1954 H. s. RosENBAUM VENETIAN BLIND CONSTRUCTION Filed July 27,1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR J/arry 5. Pose/Maarn ATTORNEY Jan. 12,1954 H. s. RosENBAuM 2,665,752

VENETIAN BLIND CONSTRUCTION Filed July 27, 1951 2 sheets-sheet 2 UWENTORATTORNEY Patented Jan. 12, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VENETIANBLIND CONSTRUCTION Harry S. Rosenbaum, Baltimore, Md., assignor to TheEastern Venetian Blind Company, Baltimore, Md., a corporation ofMaryland Application July 27, 1951, Serial No. 238,803

(Cl. 16o-175) Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a Venetian blind tilt assemblyemploying a novel tilting mechanism. The novel tilting mechanismdescribed herein comprises an endplate and a rotatable wheel attachedthereto with spaced .dat portions, whereby upon rotation of the wheel onits at portions angular adjustment of the Venetian blind is effected.

Practically all of the presently known Venetian blinds utilize theconventional gear-type tilting assembly. However, suchan assembly isexpensive to manufacture which results in prohibitive costs of theVenetian blind to the ordinary con sumer.

It is one of the general objects of the present invention, therefore, to`provide a novel tilting assembly that both lends itself to ease inmanufacturing and is economically desirable.

A second general object of the present invention is to provide a tiltingmechanism which incorporates a novel tilting wheel having spaced atportions formed therearound for determining the angular position of saidwheel,

Another object of the present invention is to provide an end plate towhich the wheel is se cured, the end plate being formed in a very simplemanufacturing process.

Still another object is to provide an operating cord that is operativelyattached to the tilting wheel whereby upon` manual movement of theoperating cord, the tilting wheel will be rotated, thus effecting anangular adjustment of the slats in the Venetian blind.

@ther` objects and the nature and advantages of the instant inventionwill be apparent from the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is r..front` elevation of a` Venetian blind assembly employingthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation. of the novel tilting wheel assembly i Fig.3 is a line taken along 3-3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction. of thearrows with parts broken away;

Fig. 4 is a` section taken along 4-'4 of Fig. 3` looking in thedirection of the arrows showing the tilting wheel being lifted androtated from one. flat portion to an adjacent flat portion; and

Fig. l thereof,` the novel tilting. apparatus` I1Il-involved.. in. theApresent. invention, is disclosed in itsfoperating position wit-haVenetian'lplind` unit;

An operating cord I I is actuated in the usual.

manner to move the slats upwardly or downwardly, as desired. To effectthis movement of the slats, the operating cord I I extends over pulleysI2, I31 down between the slats and connects to a base plate (not shown).A tilting slat I4 is connected to the novel tilting apparatus I0 andserves to tilt the blind to the different angular positions. Tapes I5,I6 combine with the tilting slat I4 to eiiect the tilting movements.

Referring to Figs. 2 and V3, the novel tilting apparatus is shown withan end plate 2'0 having Side sections EI and 22 perpendicular thereto.`A vere tically extending slot 23 is formed substantially in the centerof the end plate 2li, while a h`ori`V zontal portion 24 is shown punchedout from and bent at a right angle to the end plate 2G. A slot 25 isformed as a result of the punched out portion 24. A pulley 26 issuitably attached to the end plate 2D in the upper left-hand corner, asviewed in Fig. 2. A tilting wheel A is formed from a `pair of elementswhich are dened as a driven` cal body with oppositely disposed openings29 and 36 formed in a rear flange 28 and the front f-ac'e of the body,respectively. As seen in Fig. 2, a pin 35l extends loosely through theopenings 29 and 36 into the slot 23, in which it is vertically mov- Itis apparent that the tilting wheel A able. which comprises the drivingelement and driven element 2l is rotatably mounted on the' pin and isvertically movable therewith. Longitudinal movement of the tilting wheelA pr'- vented` by enlargedportions 31, 3-'I iorniedon the ends of thepin 35.

The driven element 2l of the tilting wheel A` has a flange 28 integrallyformed thereon which abuts against the endl plate 2li and which hasAspaced therearound three flat portions 5Il`l 5I and 52. The drivingelement sto of the uiting` wheel Aiis formed with an out-turned or ar'edflange' 30a which extends outwardly from an inner driv ingf elementplate 30h. Cut out from the plate 3:0111

and formed perpendicular thereto is a cut-out' portion 3i! shownparticularly in Fig. 2. rlhe driven element 2l and the driving element3) are secured together by placing the driving element plate 30h ushagainst the front face of the driven element 21 with the flange 39aabutting against the outside edge thereof. Ears 33, 34' are cut outfromk the front face of the driven element 2"I andi are bentperpendicular thereto. The ears3`3, 3l iitinto grooves 3l', 32 formed intheplate' 30h 3 and are lapped over the front of the plate 30h securingthe driven element 2l and driving element 30 together and therebyforming single tilting wheel A.

Referring to Fig. 3, it is seen that a groove is formed by the flange 28of the driven element 2l and the flared ange Sila of the driving element30. The groove thus formed is adapted to receive operating cords at, 4ias will be described more fully hereinafter.

The pin 35 loosely secures the tilting wheel A to the end plate 2li,allowing said wheel to move upwardly and downwardly in the slot 23 andalso allowing the wheel to rotate around its axis. The tilting wheel Adisclosed particularly in Fig. 3, rests on the horizontal punched outportion 24 on one of the fiat portions Sil, l, 52. In'Fig. 3 the tiltingwheel rests on the flat portion 52.

A cut-out section 33 is formed as part of the driving element 3B and isattached to a tilting slat 39 by suitable means. Wheel is rotated, thetilting slat 39 will ce angularly adjusted accordingly.

The pulley 26, accommodates the two operating cord pieces 4B, `il whicht around the tilting wheel A in the groove formed by the flange 28 andthe, flared ange Sta the driving element 3i! of the tilting wheel. Theoperating cord pieces fit, 4I are connected to the driving element 3B at43, 44 in the slot 42 which is formed in the flared flange 33a. It willbe seen 'that as either of the said operating cords is moved the tiltingwheel A will be rotated in the desired direction.

The tilting wheel A has three basic operating positions, the positionsbeing determined by the flat portions 5B, 5l and 52. In order to rotatethe tilting wheel A from one dat position to another, thus changing theangle of the tilting slat 39, it is necessary that the tilting Wheel Abe lifted upwardly and over the flat portion upon which it is restingand rotated so as to reach the next flat portion. It is for this reasonthat the vertically extending slot 23 is provided. rlhus by pulling onone of the operating cords, the tilting wheel A will be moved upwardlyin the slot 23 and rotated around its axis to the next iiat portion.

Figs. 4 and 5 show the inner portion 2l of the tilting wheel A in twopositions, Fig. 4 disclosing the tilting wheel A between two flatportions, with the pin 35 located at an intermediate position in thevertically extending slot 23. As either of the operating cord pieceslili, d! is pulled, which movement serves to rotate the tilting wheel Ain a counterclockwise direction, as shown by the arrow in Fig, 4, thetilting wheel A will be lifted upwardly and rotated into the next fiatposition, which, in Figs. 4 and 5, is shown as flat portion 5|. As thetilting wheel A rotates, the tilting slat 39 will be angularly adjusted,thus adjusting the position of the other blind slats.

In operation, the tilting wheel A rests on one of the flat portions 5i),5i, When an angular adjustment of the blind slats is desired, one of theoperating cord pieces 40 or lil is pulled with the resultingv angularadjustment of the blind effected, as described above.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the novel tiltingapparatus described herein presents a device that is not onlymechanically simple to operate but one that can be fabricated by arelatively uncomplicated manufacturing process. For example, the endplate 253 can be `formed in one operation, the side sections beingturned, the portion 2t punched out and the vertically extending slot cutto shape. Since very few Hence, as the tilting operating parts arenecessary in the novel tilting apparatus, failure in operation evenafter long periods of use will be practically eliminated. The simplicityof fabrication of the present invention will consequently reducemanufacturing costs and as a practical result will make Venetian Iblindsavailable to those individuals who might find ordinary Venetian blindcosts prohibitive.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention and thereforethe invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings anddescribed in the speciiication but only as indicated in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

'1. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, a plate having a verticallydisposed slot formed therein, a. horizontal shelf formed integral withsaid plate, a cord receiving pulley secured to said plate, a wheeldisposed on said shelf, a pin secured to said wheel and extendingthrough said slot for securing said wheel to said plate for verticalmovement therewith, said wheel having a rear flange and a front flange,said rear flange being formed with fiat portions equally spacedtherearound, a tilting slat secured to said front flange, said flatportions formed on said rear flange defining different angular positionsof said tilting slat, and an operating cord engaging said pulley andsecured to said front flange, said operating cord rotating and liftingsaid wheel so that the desired fiat portion of said rear flange engagessaid shelf, said tilting slat rotating with said wheel to effect adesired angular position.

2. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, a. plate, a tilting wheel, meansjoined to said plate for receiving said tilting wheel, slat meanssecured to said tilting wheel and rotating therewith, said wheel havingnat portions formed thereon at predetermined positions defining variousangular positions of said slat means, and operating means secured tosaid wheel for rotating said wheel so that one of said flat portionsformed on said wheel is disposed on said receiving means, therebyeffecting the desired angular position of said slat means.

3. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, a plate, a tilting wheel securedto said plate for vertical movement therewith, a shelf joined to saidplate for receiving said tilting wheel, a tilting slat secured to saidtilting wheel and rotating therewith, one edge of said wheel contactingsaid shelf, said edge being formed with arcuate sections and flatportions equally spaced therearound, said fiat portions definingpredetermined angular positions of said tilting slat, and operatingmeans secured to said wheel turning said wheel to said fiat portions,said wheel moving vertically upwardly as the arcuate sections ride oversaid shelf and moving downwardly as the next flat portion comes intocontact with said shelf.

4. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, an end plate having a horizontalshelf formed integral therewith and extending perpendicular thereto,said plate having a vertically disposed slot formed therein, a tiltingWheel formed with an edge operatively engaging said shelf, means securedto said wheel and disposed in said slot thereby providing for verticalmovement of said Wheel with respect to said plate, said tilting wheelhaving flat portions formed around the edge which engages said shelf, apulley secured to said end plate, a tilting slat secured to said wheel,and an operating cord operatively engagingY said pulley and secured tosaid tilting Wheel, said operating cord lifting and turning said Wheelon the axis thereof to move said tilting slat to predetermined angularpositions," said predetermined angular positions being defined by saidat portions of said Wheel contacting said shelf.

5. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, an end plate having a, horizontalshelf formed integral therewith, tilting means operatively engaging saidend plate and positioned on said shelf, a tilting slat secured to saidtilting means, said tilting means having a plurality of fiat portionsformed around the edge which is positioned on said shelf, said flatportions engaging said horizontal shelf and defining predeterminedangular positions of said tilting means, and means to lift and turn saidWheel so that one of said flat portions engages said shelf therebydefining an angular position of said slat.

6. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, a plate, a

shelf integral with said plate, rotatable means operatively secured tosaid plate, said rotatable means comprising a Wheel, said wheel beingformed with flat portions spaced around one edge thereof, each of saidflat portions being adapted to engage said shelf and corresponding topredetermined angular positions of said rotatable means, a tilting slatsecured to said Wheel, and cord means operatively engaging said Wheelfor turning and moving said Wheel thereby rotating said slat to saidpredetermined angular positions as defined by said fiat portions.

7. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, a plate having a verticallydisposed slot formed therein, a shelf projecting from said plate formedintegral therewith, rotatable means positioned on said shelf having fiatportions spaced therearound, each of said at portions defining apredetermined angular position of said rotatable means and engaging saidshelf upon rotation of said rotatable means, a pin engaging saidrotatable means loosely disposed in said slot and providing for verticalmovement of said rotatable means, a Slat means secured to said rotatablemeans, and a cord secured to said rotatable means for lifting andturning said rotatable means on said shelf thereby changing the angularposition of said slat means.

8. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, an end plate, a shelf joined tosaid plate, a tilting wheel secured for rotation to said end plate andvertically movable relative thereto, said tilting Wheel having spacedflat portions formed therearound,

each of said flat portions being adapted to engage said shelf uponrotation of said Wheel thereby defining predetermined angular positionsof said wheel When said Wheel is rotated, a tilting slat secured to saidWheel, and an operating oord secured to said tilting Wheel for liftingand rotating said tilting Wheel on said shelf to move said tilting slatto said various predetermined angular positions.

9. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, an end plate having a verticallydisposed slot formed therein, a pin positioned for vertical movement insaid slot, a shelf joined to said plate, a tilting Wheel positioned onsaid shelf, said pin secured to said tilting wheel and forming therotating axis therefor, means formed on said wheel for causing verticalmovement thereof when said wheel is rotated, slat means secured to saidtilting wheel, and an operating cord secured to said tilting Wheel forlifting and turning said Wheel on said shelf to effect various angularpositions of said slat means, said pin moving vertically in said slotupon rotation of said wheel thereby compensating for the verticalmovement of said Wheel.

10. In a Venetian blind tilt assembly, an end plate having a verticallydisposed slot formed therein, shelf means joined to said end plate, pinmeans positioned for vertical movement in said slot, tilting meanssecured to said pin means, Slat means secured to said tilting means,said tilting means having fiat portions spaced therearound to dennediierent angular positions of said slat means when positioned on saidshelf means, and cord means secured to said tilting means for liftingand turning said tilting means to a flat portion on said shelf means toeffect angular adjustment of said tilting means, said pin means movingvertically in said slot to compensate for the turning movement of saidtilting means on said shelf means.

HARRY S. ROSENBAUM.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,772,493 Leeper Aug. 12, 1930 2,110,145 Loehr Mar. 8, 19382,304,934 Lawson Dec. 15, 1942 2,391,500 Nisenson Dec. 25, 19452,552,956 Gantner May 15, 1951 2,579,197 Levin Dec. 18, 1951

